Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Equestrian of Darkover miniature

Brenda was a friend of a friend in the Darkover fan community. She lived in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where for some reason I had many fantasy fan friends. I learned a lot about rural Tennessee culture from Brenda and her group, and I even got to taste authentic moonshine liquor. (Nasty stuff.) Brenda made me a beautiful afghan in a traditional design, and I picked the colors. This was one gift I could return to her. Brenda had had polio in her childhood and used a wheelchair, but she loved horses and so I portrayed her as a rider with her golden steed in the background. She holds the long knife of the Darkovan Free Amazons.

I have lost contact with many of my Southern fan friends, though I still have an excellent Chattanooga friend on Signal Mountain, above the city. I don't know where Brenda is these days or even if she is still alive. But I remember learning about places and people that I would never, ever know about had I not explored places far from my native New England.